The rebirth of the railway in Weardale more than half a century after it closed to passengers is a key element of an ongoing regeneration strategy.

It is expected to attract 90,000 visitors each year supporting the surrounding tourism industry and, with extensions to Eastgate and to Bishop Auckland to come, it will join up with the main line at Darlington by 2007.

On Saturday hundreds of well-wishers turned out to witness the new dale passenger service as it followed its leafy track from Stanhope Station, through Frosterley to Wolsingham and then back again.

Sir William McAlpine, chairman of Weardale Railway Ltd, praised the army of volunteers from Weardale Railway Trust, and a growing number of staff who started work in 1993 to reopen the line.

He said: "This is the first five miles of 19 miles and three of nine stations we will eventually reopen. It is a major project which, when completed will place Weardale Railway as one of the three longest privately owned railways in Britain, and we aim to make it the best."

MP Hilary Armstrong, who officially opened the railway, admitted that a small part of her had feared it was such a monumental task it would never happen.

She said: "It has involved a group of committed people and people who really knew what they were doing to get to this day.

"It was not just knowledge and skills, it was their absolute commitment and sheer determination which made this happen."

Margaret Fay, chairman of regeneration agency One NorthEast, which gave £1m to the project along with other donors such as the Heritage Lottery Fund and local authorities, opened Wolsingham Station. She said: "Weardale Railway is very much a project of today and one for the future.

"It is much more than a romantic way of transporting people through the dale, it is a scheme that links to jobs, tourism, training, recreation and education.

"Not only will it help connect this remote rural area to major employment centres such as Darlington, but it will also be a major tourism draw.

"It is also a major project for the Weardale Task Force, set up to reverse economic decline and be an integral part of its strategy to regenerate Weardale."

Task force chairman John Hamilton said: "Saturday was a fantastic day for Weardale and we should just rejoice that people have worked so hard to achieve this and I'm sure will continue to in the future."

Tribute paid to early champions of the dream

JUST as they championed the restoration project from its launch 11 years ago until they passed away, John Woods and Gil Chatfield led the train through the Dale on Saturday.

Their names grace plaques at the front of each locomotive - an NER P3 Class 060 No 2392 and Newcastle-built Robert Stephenson Hawthorn Austerity No 49 respectively - in honour of the effort and commitment they both showed to the railway.

The men were both founder members of the Weardale Railway Society, an organisation that realised the potential of the railway and laid the foundations for its restoration.

Sadly both died before they could see their dream realised; Mr Woods died in 1999 and Mr Chatfield died just two months ago.

Sir William McAlpine said: "Gil Chatfield and John Woods were both early stalwarts of the railway and their determination and enthusiasm for the project was invaluable."

The tribute was a surprise for Mr Chatfield's brother, John, who said: "It is a very nice tribute to Gil. It's a lovely way to show how his efforts from the early days are not forgotten.

"He would be thrilled with the reopening because it was it was his dream.

"There were times he lost heart and feared he would never see it happen but he was delighted in the months before his death to see it all coming together and he knew it would reopen and be a wonderful thing."

Mr Chatfield's ashes were scattered along the track during the poignant journey.

At Frosterley station the occasion was marked with the unveiling of a sculpture.

The piece of artwork was carved out of Frosterley marble extracted from a seam at the nearby Broadwood Quarry, donated by quarry owner Paul Allison and unveiled by his wife, Tanya.

Sculptor Keith Murray, of Saltburn, said: "The sculpture is not formal, I wanted to carve away at the marble to reveal fossils which in turn reveal the changing times of Frosterley.

"The community does not have a formal piece of sculpture elsewhere so it was wonderful to create a piece from the stone which belongs to the area and is now part of this incredible railway project."